Hand-actuated sprayer



Jan. 3, 1956 F. A. ZIHERL ETAL HAND-ACTUATED SPRAYER Filed Feb. 25, 1954 INVEN TORJ? FRANK/4 Z/HERL 65 BY AWTHUI? S. W/SH ATTORNEYS United States Patent- 2,729,506 HAND-ACTUATED shimm- Frank A. Ziherl, Euclidfandi'Arthur *S; =Kis'l1, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, assignors to Z '&'W Machine Products, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 25, 1954, Serial No. 412, 601 6 Claims; (Cl; 299 -97) use of unitary aerosol pressurized sprayersQWhich usually have to be discarded after the sniallfopen ing's thereof become sealed or clogged, even'though the "sprayer may m Referringffr'nore particularlyfo 'driiwih'gfithe wi "beatents'eomprise a caii1,\cldsed at m mmot as 'by a bsaom ineiiiber'ZQ anWhaVing a 'curled'o k aded upper end 3, to which a cover 4 is frictionally"s'ecured, as by crimpin th The cover :4 i'sprovidedfiwithfia base'portion 5 WhlCh 1s anwintegral part of the cover, and has an elongated opening- 6, ';which is defined, in part, by arcuate ends 7 and -8,

\ which are concentric with the artis the base and arcuate sides 9 and 10, which are also-concentric th the axis ofi the base. The base 5 is also provided with'fiownwardly extending embossments 11 .rand 12, which are of arcuate form, concentric with thesides'9 and 1 0,;andare inclined inacircurnferential direction; 7 toqproyidemcam-like look elementsff ora functionrto be presently described.

Secured to the cover 4, in a, manner to be presently described, is a sprayer body, which is preferably molded, in one piece, from cellulose acetate, and comprises a cylindrical lower portion 13 having a passageway 14 therethrough, protuberances 15 extending from diametricallyopposite sides of the portion 13 and providing shoulders 16 at their upper ends, and a cup-like extension at the e ,cover ,over the end 3, in the manner upperendbf the po'r'tion 13,whichcttehsibn com eis abase 1 7, in spaced relationto the shoulders 16, and ah anhular flange 18, the upperf outer portion of which ,is provided with circumferentially-spaced ribs 19, which facilitate rotation of the sprayer body. Y a, he sprayer body is provided with a radially-extendiiig slot 'Z 'Q'IFig. 5), at a circumferential point thereof ntermediate the protuberance's 15 and iniinediately'abovlhe protuberances 15,t he passageway14has a counr rbere 21. The lower end of the sprayer body has 'afnjaxial passageway 22,1013 reduced diameter, which communicates with thepassageway 14. The, junctionof theipassageways "14 a nd 22 forms a seat 14' fora ball'cheick valve 23;

l rictionally "securedwithin the coun'te'rbo'rell "is a'cap 24, alsopreferably molded from cellulose acetafefand the lowerend of which provides a shoulder 25, rara plirposeftobe presentlyfdescribed; I

Mounted for slida'blevertically reciprbcatoi'y'rno'vement in the cap,24 is a plunger 26, preferably made of cellulose acetate, and having 'an axial bore 27 extending thereth'roug'h, providedat'its upper end with a counterbore 28 and at its lower end with a boref29 of reduced diameter; The plunger 26 has 'a portion 30 adjacentfits lower end, of slightly larger external diameter, which portion is slidable inthe passageway 14 "ofthespraye r body.

Below the p0rtion30 of the plunger, theplunge'r is provided'witha portion d lffof slightly less external fdiarrieter than the external dia'meterof the plunger above the pdrtion30,and below the portion'Slj, the phingeris provided itlr a portion 32 of less external diameter than 6 i afi tfii ai s 9 p yst n and h a f- Wardly flared upper" extensidnodfl arida imila outwardly flaredfflower 'exterrsion The upper extension s tfis rn'airita'inedtin outwardly fflar ed condition; by, the engage Itieht'tlieieWiihbf e shoulderiforrned'. by is pejr eras ofthe portion: 31""0ftheplfingenj "l helower extension 35 rnaintaine fd in outwardly flared 'Qcondition' "by [the engagement tlierewitli of iae"i 1pberj n pt;a plunger cap 36, which is frictionally scuredto the' p'ortions 31'afid sz'orme pmn er, H v A a Af ompressionboilspringfllfll is disposed'fwitlii he passageway 14in the sprayerbody, the'upp'er end bf sprihg bearing I against the plun er "cap '36 and the lower end o the'spring'bearihg' again'stfthe seat 14".

rrjlfcti any secured within"thefpassageway 22311 the pra vji s ",u rateddiatom or in acetate whic'h feig'te nds downwardly, to a' point"cliisel y in" 40,11 re ma "fqrrnedjertelluies ac WhIch' is prov t its iippe r' 'end with a curved k, est 41". hem z eso y 4o hasa vertical pa; way 2 a a], whichi is co'rrinluni cable with the conifer,- ts ar t eP nge m xt i is la i l irwm i uppheiid of the passageway 42"is a small'bore 43.1, The bone 43 cornmunicateswith an enl arged bore 44 in' a ter l "e r ci -flib Ih nqz ley cd i cti" nallysecuriedi ithi nthfe 'bore 44]pf the ape 2116 46, preferably,

46 is provided j with "a tron vva nelzzl opening 48 therein, anjd rea ing, the Wallis prtavided with c q s lw t heiiear passag from the bore 43 through the bore 44 to the opening 48. The nozzle insert 50 is slightly shorter than the length of the cylindrical inner wall of the nozzle 46, so that it floats within the nozzle to permit the fluid to gain access to the helical passageways and flow out of the opening 48.

11,1 7) meat ardl this The nozzle 46'is provided with annular teeth 53 which bite into the wall of the bore 44 after the nozzle has been pushed into this bore, and thus serve to present dislodgement of the nozzle.

, In assembling the various parts of the sprayer, the plunger, cap 24, and plunger body are first assembled in the manner shown in Fig. 3, along with the nozzle and associated parts. The aforesaid assembly is then assembled withthe can 1 by first passing the protuberances through the opening 6 in the cover 4, until the protuberanceshave passed below this opening. The assembly is then rotated, so as to cause the shoulders 16 of the protuberances 15 to engage the embossments 11 and 12, continued rotation of the assembly causing the embossrnents to act as cams which lock the assembly to the cover. Prior to this assembly, a gasket 54 of neoprene and cork is secured to the lower face of the base 17 of the sprayer body. r f I Assuming that the container 1 contains a fluid which is to be sprayed through the nozzle opening 48, the operationjis as follows:

Thecan 1 is gripped in the hand, and the index finger placed in the finger rest 41. Upon downward movement of the plunger '26 by the index finger, the balls23 and 39 are lifted from their seats, permitting the fluid to flow up through the passageways 14 and 27. Upon release of pressure on the finger rest, the spring 37 returns the parts to their original position, reseating the balls 23 and 39. A number of strokes will be'required to. bring the fluid up into the nozzle body.

' Continued operation of'the sprayer in this manner will cause the fluidto be projected through the opening 48 in a fine spray, which is given a whirling action by the helical passageways 51 and 52 of the nozzle insert, and

by the surface 49.

Theseal 33, with its flared extensions, eflectively seals upwardly through the space between the portion 30 of the plunger and the wall of the passageway 14. However, should any fluid escape above this seal, the provision of'the opening or slot permits it to escape back into the fluid reservoir in the can 1.

A primary advantage of the invention resides in the fact that the cans 1 are conventional cans which can be readilypurchased in the open market, and through the use of the novel sprayer assembly or unit which I have provided, the unit can be quickly and easily locked to such cans, thereby making a pressure spray unit out of a conventional can, without requiring the can to bethrown away or discarded after the contents thereof have been depleted. "In other words, the can may be readily refilled, and the sprayer unit reattached to the can.

Moreover, the parts of the sprayer unit can be readily disassembled for cleaning, and quickly reassembled, without the use of tools. This does away with a disadvantage incident to the use of unitary aerosol pressurized sprayers, which resides in the fact that when the small openings of such sprayers become clogged, the sprayer usually has to be discarded, even though it may be substantially filled up. v V

It is to be understood that thev form of my invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred examplev of the same, and that various changes inthe shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from thespirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims. 1

"fHaving thus described my invention, I claim:

pump unit, and means removably securing said unit to said can, said means comprising a can top frictionally locked to said can, said top having an elongated opening therein, and said spray unit comprising a body having tenons projecting therefrom and adapted to'be passed through said opening and to be rotated about the axis of said top, whereby to removably lock said body to said top.

2. The combination, as defined in claim 1, in which a plunger is mounted for reciprocal movement in said body, and a cap is frictionally secured to said body to provide means for limiting upward movement of the plunger.

3; The combination, as defined in claim 1, in which said can top is provided with downwardly extending arcuate embossments which are concentrate with the axis of. said top, said embossments being tapered in a circumferential direction, and said tenons coact with said embossments to cam said body into locking engagement with said top.

4. In combination, a can for containing a fluid, said can having a top having an elongated opening, a spray pump unit secured to said top, said spray pump unit having tenons projecting therefrom and adapted tobe passed through said unit from above the opening and to be rotated about the axis of said can after being passed through the opening, whereby to removably lock said unit'to said top to thereby secure said unit'and cam together to form a single structure, and means on said unit overlying said top for preventing said unit from moving downwardly after being locked to said top.

5. The combination, as defined in claim 4, in which said meanscomprises a cup-like portion of said unit.

6. In a sprayer of the type described, a sprayer unit comprising a body having a cylindrical bore, a plunger mounted for reciprocal sliding movement in said bore, said plunger having a portion of reduced diameter defining with the wall of said bore an annular space, said plunger having a second portion of a diameter less than that of said first portion and forming a shoulder with said first portion, a seal of flexible plastic material comprising an annular .body frictionally secured to said secondportion of said plunger and having at one end an outwardly flared flexible extension formed integrally with said annular body portion and extending into said annular space and maintained by said shoulder in wiping engagement with the wall of said cylindrical bore, said annular body having atits other end an outwardly flared extension formedintegrally with said annular body, and a sleeve frictionally secured to said second reduced portion of the *the wall of said cylindrical bore, said sleeve also acting to maintain said seal against displacement from said shoulder. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 329,067 Nelson Oct. 27, 1885 1,580,246 Heller Apr. 13, 1926 1,623,504 Stiriss Apr. 5, 1927 1,632,218 'Chaflin June 14, 1927 1,632,933 Thornton June 21, 1927 1,749,216 Goldman Mar. .4, 1930 2,038,778 Williams Apr. 28, 1936 2,069,212 Buflington Feb. 2; 1937 2,301,051

King "a Nov. 3, 1942 

